Qatar crisis causing ‘logistical headaches’

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that the increasing diplomatic tension between Qatar and its Arab neighbors is already leading to operational problems in the region.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that the increasing diplomatic tension between Qatar and its Arab neighbors is already leading to operational problems in the region, specifically with regards to the trade of crude oil as well as its related products.

The agency in a report emphasized that exporters of Qatar’s crude, condensate and liquefied natural gas had faced some logistical troubles.

In early June, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) broke off relations with Doha and suspended all land, air and sea traffic with the monarchy. In their apparent bid to secure US support and that of Israel, the four countries cited Qatar's links with the Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas and accused it of supporting terrorism.

“Abu Dhabi swiftly enforced a ban on oil tankers linked to Qatar calling at ports in the UAE, which could lead to a backlog of cargos and increased shipping costs,” the IEA report added.

The IEA added that Qatar produced nearly 600,000 barrels of crude per day with daily exports of as much as 500,000 barrels mainly to Asian states.

The agency added that the current political environment allow no crude consumer to co-load crude from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain with Qatari supplies. This, it said, was another headache caused as a result of Doha’s diplomatic rift with other Arab states.

The IEA said co-loading of Qatari grades to crude from Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Oman, which are not part of the dispute, had also become limited, the website of Russia Today wrote in a report.